Practice Management News

An earlier PMN article discussed various ways to reduce no-shows and cancellations. This week's article focuses on one of those methods – appointment reminders – with seven steps to create and deliver more effective reminders.

Your patient data is the lifeline of your practice -- so work with your front desk to establish the best practice of >updating your database every time a patient checks in. Make sure that every staff member understands the importance of confirming the patient’s address, email, home/work/cell phone number on every visit. You can't run an effective reminder program if you can't contact your patients.

If you have been in business for a while, there are probably many out-of-date names in your database with no current contact information. Rather than give up on these names, contact a local marketing company about a doing a data append. These companies use the USPS National Change of Address (NCOA) database and other sources to update your database with a patient’s current address and phone number. You can then contact these past patients to come back in for a check-up or other services.

In today's hectic world, no two people run their life exactly the same way. Some people keep their schedule on their cell phone or PDA...others have a PC calendar at home...and plenty of people still tape notes to a refrigerator or keep an old-fashioned calendar book in their pocket or purse.

To reduce no-shows, contact your patients in the way that suits them best -- whether it's by text message, email, phone or printed letter. It also doesn't hurt to contact people more than once -- if you have both a phone number and an email address, contact your patient both ways.

If you rely on your people to personally call or to manually email each patient reminder, there will be many hectic days when the reminders simply don’t go out. That costs you money. Automated reminder systems can scan your schedule each day and automatically generate all of your text, phone or email messages for you -- you don't have to lift a finger.

Not only do you know your reminders are sent each day, you also know more of your patients will get those reminders. For example, an automated phone system can be programmed to make calls in the early evening, when more of your patients are at home. It can also re-call numbers that didn't answer the first time.

When it comes to justifying the cost of these systems, remember two things: (1) having your staff manually contact people isn't free (or efficient); (2) a typical PT practice loses 10-15% of potential revenue in no-shows and cancellations -- no small loss. Reducing no-shows can add up to a lot of extra revenue very quickly.

Once you update your database, diversify your reminders and automate the system, your patients will at least know that they have a scheduled appointment. Now you need to convince them to follow through and show up. Many people are tempted in dozens of ways to cancel thjeir appointment or simply not show up. This is especially true if pain is involved. That's why it’s important that your reminders not simply deliver appointment information, but actively sell the need to attend.

Right or wrong, patients seem to have far more respect for the practitioner than they do for the people at the front desk. For this reason, make sure all communications come from the practitioner. Put the practitioner’s name on all emails, have him/her record the phone message (most phone reminder systems can support multiple practitioner recordings) and have your practitioner’s signature appear on all reminder letters and mailings.

Whether you call, email or text-message your patients, your first few words play an important role in the impact of your message. Make sure your email subject line grabs attention so that your message will not be deleted. Example: "An Important Message from Dr. Jones." Your phone reminders should immediately state who you are and why you are calling.

Your reminder message shouldn't just remind -- it should motivate. Many people fail to show up for appointments not because they forgot, but because they didn't decide to come. That's why you need to briefly explain why it’s important for the patient to keep the appointment. For example, "It is essential that you attend every scheduled therapy session to assure the best possible outcome."

Your phone system or webmaster may offer a variety of "cool" interactive features that allow a patient to confirm or cancel an appointment when you contact them by phone or email. If you make it too easy for patients to cancel, many will. Instead of offering a "cancel" option, instruct your patients to "call the office and we will be glad to explain our cancellation policy to you." This approach allows patients who genuinely need to reschedule the chance to do so, while weeding out those who simply don’t feel like coming.

By applying the concepts of reach, frequency and impact to your reminder program, you can reduce your cancellations and no-shows significantly. Let us know how you’re doing and if this article was helpful by emailing PMN at editor@practicemanagementnews.com.

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